Leneghan ‘exploring’ run at 12th District seat

O’Brien nets endorsement from Yost

Liberty Township Trustee Melanie Leneghan said she is considering entering the race for Ohio’s 12th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, is resigning from Congress, effective the end of January, to become the head of the Ohio Business Roundtable. Since Tiberi’s announcement last fall, Republicans have lined up to grapple for the nomination in the May 8 primary election. A special election to fill out the remainder of Tiberi’s term in 2018 is scheduled for Aug. 7. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6.

“It’s something that I have been exploring,” Leneghan said in a phone interview with The Gazette on Tuesday, Jan. 9. “It’s been in the works for months.”

Leneghan said that Delaware County is very conservative and the people deserve someone who is a true conservative.

“I’m concerned about all these career politicians,” she said.

Leneghan said she “tentatively plans” to file with the Board of Elections before the Feb. 7 deadline and that sometime after that date she will announce her candidacy publicly.

O’Brien received the endorsement of Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost this week. In a press release announcing the endorsement, Yost, a former Delaware County auditor and prosecutor, stated, “Carol has my full support” and that “she has the tenacity, skill and courage to go against the DC norm and stand up for her constituents.”

Sources said another candidate who’s expected to enter the 12th District race is Dublin resident Tim Kane. He‘s an economist with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Kane has served in senior research roles at the Hudson Institute, the Kauffman Foundation, and the Heritage Foundation. He has served twice as a senior economist at the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress.

Democrats that have filed for the 12th District race include Galena farmer John Russell, Granville businessman Ed Albertson, Newark school teacher John Peters, and health care professional Doug Wilson of Mansfield, and former Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott.

Former State Rep. Jay Goyal of Mansfield is reportedly considering entering the race.